Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool have “a lot of things to improve” as he pinpointed the problem that almost cost his team against Chelsea. Luis Diaz’s opener was equalised by Axel Disasi as the Reds were held to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge in their Premier League opener on Sunday afternoon. Liverpool were on the back foot for long periods but could have snatched a victory late on when a shot from substitute Darwin Nunez was deflected narrowly wide.
Jurgen Klopp said: “It’s the first game, not the last. We have a lot of things to improve, no doubt about that. In the end we got the point and that’s okay. I saw a lot of things I liked. Some things I didn’t like particularly but it’s the first game in a tough place. So I really attempt to see it rather positively to be honest. I’m okay with the point. I saw the game so know we could have won. But I saw the game so know we could have lost as well. That’s how it is. I think we had the last chance of the game, right? That would have been a great moment to finish it off. So far in my career, first matchdays were always difficult. And an away game at Chelsea as the first matchday is not a top draw. We have a point and we keep working.”
Liverpool were hampered by the lack of a defensive midfielder, with their attempts to sign either Moises Caicedo from Brighton or Romeo Lavia from Southampton mired in uncertainty with Chelsea also in for both players. Mohamed Salah had a goal disallowed in the first half that would have made him the first person to score on seven successive opening Premier League weekends, while Chelsea also had an effort chalked off for marginal offside through Ben Chilwell. And assessing the match, Klopp highlighted the defensive issue that allowed the Londoners to take control in the second half.
Jurgen Klopp said: “We had a really good start into the game, I liked it a lot. Everything was there that we were working on. Scored two wonderful goals, one disallowed for offside. It was really close. The build-up to that goal anyway was absolutely top class. But then we opened the door for Chelsea. We lost the ball in one or two situations which was unnecessary. The goal was off a set-piece. The other goal, we won the ball but didn’t clear it enough. It was offside as well but Chelsea were then in the game. It was an open game then. Second half, with the crowd and all these things, we had to dig really deep and fight hard. A lot of spaces to cover and gaps to close. That was actually our problem in the game, we tried to cover the gaps by dropping instead of stepping in, like we did at the beginning. Then they could find (Raheem) Sterling between the lines and (Reece) James was suddenly in the game, Chilwell better in the game. We should have seen it better. But the best way to avoid these kind of things is to control the game better. When we passed in the right moment, kept the ball in the right moment, we created one v one situations on the wing which were really difficult for Chelsea.”
